Wednesday, November 30
Houston, TX
7 p.m.
Rice University
-52,01 CUSA
70
vs
62
Prairie View A&M
4-4,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Prairie View
32
30
62
Rice
25
45
70
Olivari’s 27 Points Leads Rice to 70-62 Win over Prairie View A&M
11/30/2022 10:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Quincy Olivari scored 20 of his season-high 27 points in the second half as the Rice men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit, defeating Prairie View A&M, 70-62, Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Story
The teams went back-and-forth through the first seven minutes of the game. Seryee Lewis' layup tied the game at 10. But the Owls went without a field goal over the next 5:34, making just four free throws as Prairie View took an 18-14 lead. After Cameron Sheffield cut the lead to two with a layup, the Panthers scored six of the next eight points to take a 24-18 lead at the under-four media timeout. Olivari made two free throws as Rice scored six straight points to tie the game at 24 with 2:26 to play. But, Prairie View closed the half on an 8-1 run, taking a 32-25 lead into halftime.
After Mekhi Mason opened the second half with a jumper, the Panthers went on an 8-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 40-28, less than five minutes into the half. Olivari then scored all nine points in a 9-3 Rice run to cut the deficit to six, but PVAMU scored five straight to extend its lead to 48-37 with 11:33 to play. That's when Rice turned up its play. Back-to-back baskets by Olivari sent Rice on a 9-2 run. After a Prairie View dunk pushed the lead to six, Travis Evee made back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 52. The Panthers retook the lead on a pair of free throws. However, Mason answered with two of his own as Rice made six straight free throws to take a 58-54 lead with 4:54 remaining. The teams then traded baskets as PVAMU cut the lead to three with 1:18 to play. But Rice closed the game on an 8-3 run to win its fourth straight game.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"This is becoming a weird habit that we need to break in getting down at halftime and fighting back. But again, it says a couple of things. One, about the leadership of our team. The growth of the program to win with defense and rebounding against a very good rebounding team. That is a huge deal for us. Finally, playing at home matters. Our guys got going offensively as well. I'm very happy to win. Prairie View A&M is a very good team and I'm proud of our guys."
The Stats
Rice connected on 41.7% (20-of-48) from the field but just 20.0% (4-of-20) from three. It also hit a season-high 76.5% (26-of-34) from the free throw line. Prairie View A&M connected on 42.3% (22-of-52) from the floor but just 28.6% (6-of-21) from three. Rice also won the rebounding battle, 37-to-26.
Notes
• Rice and Prairie View A&M met for the eighth time overall but the first since 2014. Rice holds a perfect 8-0 record.
• When played at Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice leads, 6-0.
• Rice has started 5-0 at home for the first time since starting 6-0 in 2011-12.
• G Quincy Olivari scored a game and season-high 27 points, going 7-of-14 from the floor. He also set career-highs by going 11-of-14 from the free throw line and recording four steals.
• Olivari connected on two three-pointers, giving him 173 in his career to pass Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for seventh on the school's all-time list.
• G/F Cameron Sheffield scored nine points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
• The 15 rebounds are the most since F Max Fiedler had 16 against Houston Baptist on Dec. 15, 2020.
• Fiedler had nine points, eight rebounds, and tied a career-high with eight assists.
Next Up
Rice begins a two-game road trip this Sunday, Dec. 4, when it travels to San Marcos to face Texas State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
The Story
The teams went back-and-forth through the first seven minutes of the game. Seryee Lewis' layup tied the game at 10. But the Owls went without a field goal over the next 5:34, making just four free throws as Prairie View took an 18-14 lead. After Cameron Sheffield cut the lead to two with a layup, the Panthers scored six of the next eight points to take a 24-18 lead at the under-four media timeout. Olivari made two free throws as Rice scored six straight points to tie the game at 24 with 2:26 to play. But, Prairie View closed the half on an 8-1 run, taking a 32-25 lead into halftime.
After Mekhi Mason opened the second half with a jumper, the Panthers went on an 8-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 40-28, less than five minutes into the half. Olivari then scored all nine points in a 9-3 Rice run to cut the deficit to six, but PVAMU scored five straight to extend its lead to 48-37 with 11:33 to play. That's when Rice turned up its play. Back-to-back baskets by Olivari sent Rice on a 9-2 run. After a Prairie View dunk pushed the lead to six, Travis Evee made back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 52. The Panthers retook the lead on a pair of free throws. However, Mason answered with two of his own as Rice made six straight free throws to take a 58-54 lead with 4:54 remaining. The teams then traded baskets as PVAMU cut the lead to three with 1:18 to play. But Rice closed the game on an 8-3 run to win its fourth straight game.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"This is becoming a weird habit that we need to break in getting down at halftime and fighting back. But again, it says a couple of things. One, about the leadership of our team. The growth of the program to win with defense and rebounding against a very good rebounding team. That is a huge deal for us. Finally, playing at home matters. Our guys got going offensively as well. I'm very happy to win. Prairie View A&M is a very good team and I'm proud of our guys."
The Stats
Rice connected on 41.7% (20-of-48) from the field but just 20.0% (4-of-20) from three. It also hit a season-high 76.5% (26-of-34) from the free throw line. Prairie View A&M connected on 42.3% (22-of-52) from the floor but just 28.6% (6-of-21) from three. Rice also won the rebounding battle, 37-to-26.
Notes
• Rice and Prairie View A&M met for the eighth time overall but the first since 2014. Rice holds a perfect 8-0 record.
• When played at Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice leads, 6-0.
• Rice has started 5-0 at home for the first time since starting 6-0 in 2011-12.
• G Quincy Olivari scored a game and season-high 27 points, going 7-of-14 from the floor. He also set career-highs by going 11-of-14 from the free throw line and recording four steals.
• Olivari connected on two three-pointers, giving him 173 in his career to pass Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for seventh on the school's all-time list.
• G/F Cameron Sheffield scored nine points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
• The 15 rebounds are the most since F Max Fiedler had 16 against Houston Baptist on Dec. 15, 2020.
• Fiedler had nine points, eight rebounds, and tied a career-high with eight assists.
Next Up
Rice begins a two-game road trip this Sunday, Dec. 4, when it travels to San Marcos to face Texas State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
Team Stats
PVAM
Rice
FG%
.423
.417
3FG%
.286
.200
FT%
.667
.765
RB
26
37
TO
12
14
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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